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Published online 7 May 2008 | Nature | doi:10.1038/453138a
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Top billing for platypus at end of evolution tree
Monotreme's genome shares features with mammals, birds and reptiles.
A draft sequence of the platypus genome reveals reptilian and mammalian elements and provides more evidence for its place in the ancestral line of animal evolution.
The platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus ) is endemic to Australia and one of nature's oddest creatures, seemingly assembled from the spare parts of other animals.
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It would be interesting to understand the genomes of other "outlier" organisms, including the echidna, birds like the kiwi or tinamous, tuataras, nautilus, and similar organisms.
Great article about an animal that I have admired since grade school in the 50's. Could it be that the reason it doesn't quite fit the rules is that it's genetic code is unique using the basic building blocks in a different combination assigned at it's inception? Rather than a series of mutations which are incapable of supplying useful variation, all the genes were planned assemblies through the the cellular growth, division & recombination. Rather than an accident, could the Duck Bill Platypus be on Purpose?
The received interpretive paradigm is quite powerful in controlling what it is possible to consider or conclude.
What a fascinating window on the wonderful puzzle that is modern biological diversity and unity! Paul P - mutations are incapable of supplying useful variation? - this is how numerous companies and researchers are improving enzymes for specific applications - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directed_evolution
The phylogenetic diagram (first figure) has a few peculiarities-turtles are closer to crocodiles and birds than to snakes and lizards; the bird+crocodile+turtle group is closer to snakes and lizards (and tuatara) than to mammals, and dodos are closer to zebra finches than to chickens. I'm still waiting for some lophotrochozoan genomes, especially mollusks.
I think it's interesting how the sex chromosomes differ completely from those of other mammals. It's also interesting that the platypus has similar chromosomes in other organisms, such as the human X and the chicken sex chromosomes.
And to all those out there who want to see other organisms sequenced, I think we've not long to wait; our sequencing techniques are improving all the time and are being carried out with great efficiency.
Grsat call Mark Wilson! You are absolutely correct1 I should have add RANDOM or UNGUIDED mutations which are incapable of supplying useful variation. Thanks for your guidance Mark.
Wow. What a creatively designed animal!
I stand firm in my conviction that evolution is a process of parallel progression; not the serial “tree branch†analogy foundation of modern thinking. To suppose that the platypus had some historical ancestor that migrated through all of those variations in genome content to today be what it demonstrates seems somewhat naïve. The origin of life can be rationalized as being a singularity process that experienced a trauma that rearranged that original pattern for singularity expression, cloning, into a potential for variation, natural selection, producing all life forms since that event.
Paul, random mutations provide more than sufficient 'useful' variation. It is the differential reproduction and survival of individuals carrying them that distinguishes useful mutations from nonadaptive ones. If you read the article on directed evolution, you will see that even in that process, the initial mutations generated are random.